‘Ease of doing business’ refers to the regulatory environment in a country to set up and operate a business. Every year, the World Bank compares the business environment in 190 countries in its Ease of Doing Business Report. In its report released yesterday, India’s rank improved to 100 out of 190 countries in 2017, from its rank of 130 in the previous year. In this context, we explain the parameters on which each country is ranked, what has led to India’s improvement in rankings, and some recommendations made by committees to further improve the business environment in the country.

What parameters is a country ranked on?

The ease of doing business rankings are based on a country’s performance on 10 parameters such as enforcing contracts and starting a business.  In India, these rankings are based on the business environment in Mumbai and Delhi. A lower rank indicates better performance on that parameter, whereas a higher rank indicates worse performance on the indicator.  India’s ranking improved in six out of the 10 parameters over the previous year, while it remained the same or fell in the remaining four.

Note that these parameters are regulated by different agencies across the three tiers of government (i.e. central, state and municipal).  For example, for starting a business, registration and other clearances are granted by central ministries such as Finance and Corporate Affairs.  Electricity and water connections for a business are granted by the state electricity and water boards.  The municipal corporations grant building permits and various other no objection certificates to businesses.

What has led to an improvement in India’s ease of doing business rankings?

According to the 2017 report, India introduced changes in some of these parameters, which helped in improving its ranking. Some of these changes include:

• Starting a business: Starting a business involves obtaining clearances, and conforming to various regulations under laws such as Companies Act, 2013.  The report noted that India merged the application procedure for getting a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and the Tax Account Number (TAN) for new businesses.  It also improved the online application system for getting a PAN and a TAN.
• Getting credit and resolving insolvency: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code passed in 2016 provides for a 180-day time-bound process to resolve insolvency. It also provides for the continuation of a debtor’s business during these proceedings.  The Code allows secured creditors to opt out of resolution proceedings, and specifies that a debtor will be immune against creditor claims during the 180-day insolvency resolution process.  Prior to the passage of the Code, it took 4.3 years in India to liquidate a business (as of 2015).
• Paying taxes: The report notes that India made paying taxes easier by requiring that payments to the Employees Provident Fund are made electronically. Further, it introduced measures to ease compliance with corporate income tax.
• Trading across borders: Import border compliance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai was reduced.  Export and Import costs were also reduced through increasing use of electronic and mobile platforms, among others.
• Enforcing contracts: The introduction of the National Judicial Data Grid has made it possible to generate case management reports on local courts.

What are some of the other recommendations to improve the business environment in India?

Over the last few years various committees, such as an Expert Committee constituted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the Standing Committee of Commerce, have studied the the regulatory requirements for starting a business in India and the made recommendations on the ease of doing business. Some of the issues and recommendations made by these committees are discussed below.

Starting a business:  The Standing Committee observed that regulations and procedures for starting a business are time-consuming.The Committee observed that as a consequence, a large number of start-ups are moving out of India and setting base in countries like Singapore where such procedures are easier.  It emphasised on the need to streamline regulations to give businesses in India a boost.  Note that the government announced the ‘Start-up India Action Plan in January 2016. The 19-point plan identified steps to simplify the process for registering and operating start-ups. It also proposed to grant tax exemptions to these businesses.

The Committee had suggested that the procedures and time period for registration of companies should be reduced.  In addition, a unique business ID should be created to integrate all information related to a debtor.  This ID should be used as sole reference for the business.

Acquiring land, registering property:  Under the current legal framework there are delays in acquiring land and getting necessary permissions to use it.  These delays are on account of multiple reasons including the availability of suitable land and disputes related to land titles.  It has been noted that land titles in India are unclear due to various reasons including legacy of the zamindari system, gaps in the legal framework and poor administration of land records.

The Standing Committee observed that the process of updating and digitising land records has been going on for three decades.  It recommended that this process should be completed at the earliest.  The digitised records would assist in removing ambiguity in land titles and help in its smooth transfer.  It also suggested that land ownership may be ascertained by integrating space technology and identification documents such as Aadhaar.  Note that as of September 2017, land records had been linked with Aadhaar in 4% of the villages across the country.

Several states have taken steps to improve regulations related to land and transfer of property.These steps include integration of land records and land registration by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, and the passage of a law to certify land titles in urban areas by Rajasthan.  The Committee also recommended creating a single window for registration of property, to reduce delays.

Construction permits:  In India, obtaining construction permits involves multiple procedures and is time consuming.  The Standing Committee had observed that it took 33 procedures (such as getting no objection certificates from individual departments) over 192 days to obtain a construction permit in India.On the other hand, obtaining a similar permit in Singapore involved 10 procedures and took 26 days.

Taxation:  The Standing Committee had noted that the tax administration in India was complex, and arbitration proceedings were time-consuming.  It observed that the controversies on the Minimum Alternate Tax on capital gains and the tax disputes with companies like Vodafone and Shell had harmed India’s image on taxation matters.  Such policy uncertainty and tax disputes have made foreign companies hesitant to do business in India.

The Committee observed that for ‘Make in India’ to succeed, there is a need for a fair, judicious and stable tax administration in the country.  Further, it suggested that to reduce harassment of tax payers, an electronic tax administration system should be created. Such a system would reduce human interface during dispute resolution.  Note that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced across the country from July 1, 2017.  The GST framework allows for electronic filling of tax returns, among other measures.

Enforcing contracts:  Enforcing contracts requires the involvement of the judicial system.  The time taken to enforce contracts in India is long.  For instance, the Standing Committee noted that it took close to four years in India for enforcing contracts.  On the other hand, it took less than six months for contract enforcement in Singapore.  This may be due to various reasons including complex litigation procedures, confusion related to jurisdiction of courts and high existing pendency of cases.

The Standing Committee recommended that an alternative dispute resolution mechanism and fast track courts should be set up to expedite disposal of contract enforcement cases.  It suggested that efforts should be made to limit adjournments to exceptional circumstances only.  It also recommended that certified practitioners should be created, to assist dispute resolution.

(Source PRS Legislative Research)

New Delhi : Despite significant economic growth, more than one-fourth of 15-year-old children continued to suffer from malnutrition–28% stunting and 25% thinness in India, though a considerable reduction has seen in malnutrition in 2016 compared to 15-year-olds in 2009 (28% compared to 36%). Significant inequalities persist in malnutrition status across socio-economic groups, according to the round 5 of the longitudinal study of childhood poverty.

The results of the Round 5 of the study released today, 17% of Other Caste children were stunted in 2016 compared to 37% of Scheduled Caste children.

The food intake of children is changing over time. In 2016, 56% of younger cohort children had eaten pulses, legumes and nuts within the previous 24 hours, which is a substantial increase from 32% in 2009 for children of the same age. Socially marginalised groups and the poorest households need to be targeted in efforts to reduce malnutrition, the study has recommended.

Young Lives is an international study of childhood poverty, following the lives of 12,000 children in four countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) over fifteen year.

Overall, there is an increase in average wealth over time with the highest percentage change between Round 1 (2002) and Round 5 (2016) for Scheduled Tribes households. While differences in household wealth based on location and caste have reduced over time, substantial inequalities persist between Other Castes on the one hand and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the other.The highest percentage change in access to services is seen among Scheduled Tribes, in rural households, and in households where mothers had no formal education. The largest change is seen in the average access to consumer durables, particularly among Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, households from rural areas, and where mothers had no formal education.By 2016, access to safe drinking water and electricity is near universal across all locations.Only half of households have access to sanitation. Although there have been improvements since 2002, access to sanitation facilities remains at 30% among Scheduled Tribes compared to 55% for the other three caste groups, and 31% in rural areas compared to 95% in urban areas. More households report vulnerability to economic shocks in 2016 than in 2006, the report says.

As high as 91% of 15-year-old children were enrolled in secondary schools in 2016, up from 78% for 15-year-olds in 2009.The increase in enrolment was particularly significant for girls and Backward Class (BC) children, with 90% of 15-year-old girls enrolled in 2016 (compared with 74% in 2009) and 91% of BC children (compared with 76% in 2009).The number of children attending private schools marginally increased from 35% in 2009 to 37% in 2016.The private school enrolment in 2016 remains biased towards boys (41%), Other Castes (62%), the top wealth tercile (62%), and urban children (64%).The learning levels of 15-year olds in 2016 (for the same mathematics question) did not show improvement, compared to 15-year olds in 2009.

A substantial difference in the rate of enrolment in education and training at age 22 exists between young men (26%) and young women (16%). While 35% of young people had either completed or were pursuing higher education at age 22, 22% of the older cohort had had not been educated beyond primary or upper primary level. More men (76%) were engaged in economic activity by age 22 than women of the same age (47%). This was paralleled by more women (56%) than men (11%) being married, the highest rates being among Backward Class (54%) and rural young women (66%). Participation in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors combined is significantly higher among Scheduled Castes (70%), poorer households or bottom wealth tercile households (81%) and those living in rural locations (68%). Around 18% of 22-year-olds are using computers, 4% tablets, and 21% internet, and 34% are using mobile phones with internet access, although there are substantial gender and socio-economic inequalities. The use of mobile phones with internet access is three times higher among youth from top wealth tercile households (55%), than among youth from bottom wealth tercile households (17%).

While sharing the key findings from longitudinal study, Dr. Renu Singh, Country Director, Young Lives India, said that five rounds of data have shown that there has been an increase in wealth index across all households, inequities still exist between Other Castes on the one hand and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the other.

“Learning levels have showed no improvement, and is a matter of concern. At 22, we find that 61% percent of the 22-year olds engaged in both agricultural and non-agricultural work, 56% young women married and only 16% still studying. The gender inequity in access to technology is also an area that needs to be addressed,’’ she added.

New Delhi : It will probably now become more difficult for those who drink and drive to escape long arms of the law. The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) here has set up a facility for calibration of alcohol breath analysers used by police. 

The new facility will help traffic police to ensure accuracy and reliability of their alcoholmeters. NPL is the national custodian for standards for all types of measurements.

Alcohol breath analysis is used to enforce laws relating to driving under the influence of alcohol as well as for forensic testing. “The accuracy and reliability of breath alcohol testing devices is critical to ensure successful prosecution. And accuracy directly depends on calibration source used to verify breath alcohol analyzers. Using standard reference material improves reliability of measurements,” Dr. R.K.Kotnala, Head of Environmental Sciences and Biomedical Metrology Division at NPL, said while speaking to India Science Wire.

The law enforcement agencies would be provided with a reference material consisting of a sample of alcohol at a concentration of 0.3 per cent so that they could calibrate their devices on their own regularly without having to visit NPL every now and then. They would, however, have to send their devices for a thorough check and recalibration once a year. 

The new calibration service was launched at a seminar on Tuesday. NPL has also launched a calibration facility for defibrillators installed at airports and other public places as part of their first aid kits. The defibrillators are life saving equipment but their effectiveness depends on how much energy is provided to the patient. It is critical that the right level of electric pulse is given.  Anything lower will not be effective, while a pulse larger than needed can even result in death. 

The facility will help calibrate the equipment with high precision as per the requirement of energy function specified in the International Standard for medical electrical equipment. 

In addition, a reference gas standard for precise measurement of nitrous oxides and other pollutant gases has also been unveiled. At present, NPL disseminates standards for various greenhouse gases as also national ambient air quality standards parameters such as PM 2.5, PM10, carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, and particulate lead, arsenic and nickel. 

The new initiative widens the spectrum with the establishment of facilities for preparation of primary gas mixtures, their analytical validation and impurity analyses. “Our facilities meet specified uncertainty and accuracy levels of less than one per cent required in many critical industries such as automobiles,” Dr. Kotnala added. 

NEW DELHI: In yet another push to the Modi Government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, cleared proposals worth Rs 21,738 crore for procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters through strategic partnership model.

“In a landmark decision, the DAC accorded the first approval under the recently introduced strategic partnership model for procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters,” sources in the Defence establishment said. 

As part of the proposal, 16 naval utility helicopters will be bought in a fly away state from the selected Original Equipment Manufactures (OEMs) and the remaining 95 will be made by Indian Strategic Partners in India.

The DAC, which is defence ministry’s highest decision making body for capital acquisition, also accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of nine active towed array sonar system (Advance) for the Indian Navy at an estimated cost of Rs 454 crore, sources added.

The equipment will be fitted on model naval vessel and will be greatly enhanced the submarine detection capability. 

Once again, the old fox and veteran Congress Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh has managed to have his way about party ticket distribution, campaign for the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and getting his son, Vikramditya Singh, a party ticket defying the Congress high command diktat of one family one ticket rule.

Bowing to the continued unreasonable demands from Mr. Singh, over a period of last few years, the Congress high command has shown once again signs of a weakened leadership and a party whose vice president, Rahul Gandhi does not practise what he preaches. The continued humiliation of the State Congress president, Thakur Sukhwinder Singh at the hands of Mr. Singh and then twisting the party to remove him as the chairman of the campaign committee has certainly not gone down well with the party cadres. No doubt, Mr. Singh is one of the most popular leaders in the state and commands a certain amount of loyalty in the Legislative Party, but then the Congress high command has allowed him to get away with anything and everything.

Last month, Mr Singh, demanding the ouster of Mr. Sukhwinder Singh as the state party president, had threatened to the leadership that he will not contest elections if his demand was not met. He even got many party MLAs to write to the party leadership in this regard bringing out factionalism in the open. The very fact that party squabbles were played out in the open badly eroded the credibility of the government and the party giving an edge to BJP which, also looks a divided house, but has been bound by the central leadership which is assertive and strong.

In fact, the Congress party had lost the high moral ground when it termed as politically motivated the corruption cases against the Chief Minister and his family members. The very fact that the court has framed charges against Mr. Singh and family members should have been grounds enough to oust Mr. Singh and install a clean image Chief Minister in his place. However, the congress leadership lost this opportunity as some senior leaders within the party batted for the Chief Minister and his threat to split the party if he was removed made the party high command nervous. “The party should have acted and ousted Mr. Singh even if it meant sacrificing the government which had only six-odd months to go. This would have certainly given the party the high moral ground to take on the BJP and won sympathy from the locals of the state. But now we are faced with a precarious situation where some party men are working to ensure the loss of some leaders,’’ a senior Himachal leader remarked.

Even during the last Assembly polls in 2012, Mr. Singh had threatened to split the party if he was not declared the party Chief Minister face for the assembly polls.  In fact, he had bulldozed the party to declare him not only the Chief Minister face but also the head of the party’s campaign. The party had won a moderate mandate with some of Mr. Virbhadra Singh’s loyalists biting the dust and the government was formed with the help of associate members and rebels.

There is little doubt that Mr. Singh has not allowed any party leader to emerge on the political scene and today the Congress leadership is struggling with the choice of replacing an ageing Mr. Singh who seems to now fighting a battle for not only his survival but also for the survival of his legacy or family rule and ensure that not  only he wins at the hustings but also his son, who is contesting from the Shimla (Rural) constituency, make his debut in the Himachal  Pradesh Assembly and formally launches himself into the political scene of the state.

The other senior party leader, Anand Sharma has been a reluctant customer as far as state politics is concerned. He has managed to get some of his supporter’s party tickets but by and large has not been able to project or position himself as the popular or dominating leader of the state. No doubt the party is fighting a very tough battle to retain the state but one can never know with the old horse that Mr. Virbhadra Singh is, he could have an ace up his sleeve.

(Views are personal)

Experts are evenly split on whether the coming decade will see a reduction in false and misleading narratives online. Those forecasting improvement place their hopes in technological fixes and in societal solutions. Others think the dark side of human nature is aided more than stifled by technology.

In late 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected “post-truth” as the word of the year, defining it as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

The 2016 Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the tumultuous U.S. presidential election highlighted how the digital age has affected news and cultural narratives. New information platforms feed the ancient instinct people have to find information that syncs with their perspectives: A 2016 study that analyzed 376 million Facebook users’ interactions with over 900 news outlets found that people tend to seek information that aligns with their views.

This makes many vulnerable to accepting and acting on misinformation. For instance, after fake news stories in June 2017 reported Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin had died in a car crash its market value was reported to have dropped by $4 billion.

When BBC Future Now interviewed a panel of 50 experts in early 2017 about the “grand challenges we face in the 21stcentury” many named the breakdown of trusted information sources. “The major new challenge in reporting news is the new shape of truth,” said Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine. “Truth is no longer dictated by authorities, but is networked by peers. For every fact there is a counterfact and all these counterfacts and facts look identical online, which is confusing to most people.”

Americans worry about that: A Pew Research Center study conducted just after the 2016 election found 64% of adults believe fake news stories cause a great deal of confusion and 23% said they had shared fabricated political stories themselves – sometimes by mistake and sometimes intentionally.

The question arises, then: What will happen to the online information environment in the coming decade? In summer 2017, Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center conducted a large canvassing of technologists, scholars, practitioners, strategic thinkers and others, asking them to react to this framing of the issue:

The rise of “fake news” and the proliferation of doctored narratives that are spread by humans and bots online are challenging publishers and platforms. Those trying to stop the spread of false information are working to design technical and human systems that can weed it out and minimize the ways in which bots and other schemes spread lies and misinformation.

The information environment will not improve: The problem is human nature

Most respondents who expect the environment to worsen said human nature is at fault. For instance, Christian H. Huitema, former president of the Internet Architecture Board, commented, “The quality of information will not improve in the coming years, because technology can’t improve human nature all that much.”

Michael J. Oghia, an author, editor and journalist based in Europe, said he expects a worsening of the information environment due to five things: “1) The spread of misinformation and hate; 2) Inflammation, sociocultural conflict and violence; 3) The breakdown of socially accepted/agreed-upon knowledge and what constitutes ‘fact.’ 4) A new digital divide of those subscribed (and ultimately controlled) by misinformation and those who are ‘enlightened’ by information based on reason, logic, scientific inquiry and critical thinking. 5) Further divides between communities, so that as we are more connected we are farther apart. And many others.”

More people = more problems. The internet’s continuous growth and accelerating innovation allow more people and artificial intelligence (AI) to create and instantly spread manipulative narratives

There is a growing deficit in commonly accepted facts or some sort of cultural “common ground.” Why has this happened? They cited several reasons:

Information overload crushes people’s attention spans. Their coping mechanism is to turn to entertainment or other lighter fare.

High-quality journalism has been decimated due to changes in the attention economy.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Reddit and Twitter appear to be prime battlegrounds. Bots are often employed, and AI is expected to be implemented heavily in the information wars to magnify the speed and impact of messaging.

The credibility of the journalism industry is at stake and the livelihood of many people is hanging in the balance of finding the tools, systems and techniques for validating the credibility of news.

(Inputs from Pew Research)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts in enhancing funding to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, has been appreciated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In its annual Global Tuberculosis Report, 2017, the WHO has said that India stood out as a country in which the budget envelope for TB was substantially increased in 2017 (to US$ 525 million, almost double the level of 2016), following political commitment from the Prime Minister to the goal of ending TB by 2025.

The budget is fully funded, including US$ 387 million (74%) from domestic sources (triple the amount of US$ 124 million in 2016) and the remainder (26%) from international donor sources, the report has said.

According to the report, global efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB) have saved an estimated 53 million lives since 2000 and reduced the TB mortality rate by 37%.

Despite these achievements, the latest picture is grim. Tuberculosis remains the top infectious killer in 2016 and is also the main cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance and the leading killer of people with HIV. Progress in most countries is stalling and is not fast enough to reach global targets or close persistent gaps in TB care and prevention, it says.

Making large inroads into these gaps requires progress in a particular subset of high TB burden countries. Ten countries accounted for 76% of the total gap between TB incidence and reported cases; the top three were India (25%), Indonesia (16%) and Nigeria (8%).

Ten countries accounted for 75% of the incidence-treatment enrolment gap for drug-resistant TB; India and China accounted for 39% of the global gap.

“While the world has committed to ending the TB epidemic by 2030, actions and investments don’t match the political rhetoric. We need a dynamic, global, multisectoral approach,” said dr tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.  

In 2016, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide, 10% of which were people living with HIV. Seven countries accounted for 64% of the total burden, with India bearing the brunt, followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa. An estimated 1.7 million people died from TB, including nearly 400 000 people who were co-infected with HIV. This is a drop by 4% compared to 2015.

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. WHO estimates that there were 600 000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin – the most effective first-line drug, of which 490 000 had MDR-TB. Almost half of these cases were in India, China and the Russian Federation.

Underreporting and underdiagnosis of TB cases continues to be a challenge, especially in countries with large unregulated private sectors and weak health systems. Of the estimated 10.4 million new cases, only 6.3 million were detected and officially notified in 2016, leaving a gap of 4.1 million. India, Indonesia and Nigeria accounted for almost half of this global gap.

Only one in five MDR-TB cases were started on treatment. India and China accounted for 39% of the global gap. Treatment success remains low, at 54% globally. Of the almost half a million reported cases of HIV-associated TB, 15% were not on antiretroviral therapy (ART) as recommended by WHO. Most of the gaps related to HIV-associated TB were in the WHO African Region.

The report said TB preventive treatment is expanding in two priority risk groups – people living with HIV and children under 5 years. However, most people eligible for TB preventive treatment are not accessing it.

For TB care and prevention, investments in low- and middle-income countries fall almost US$ 2.3 billion short of the US$ 9.2 billion needed in 2017. In addition, at least an extra US$ 1.2 billion per year is required to accelerate the development of new vaccines, diagnostics, and medicines.

TB is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the leading cause from a single infectious agent, ranking above HIV/AIDS. In 2016, there were an estimated 1.3 million TB deaths among HIV-negative people (down from 1.7 million in 2000) and an additional 374 000 deaths among HIV-positive people.  Globally, the TB mortality rate is falling at about 3% per year. TB incidence is falling at about 2% per year and 16% of TB cases die from the disease; by 020, these figures need to improve to 4–5% per year and 10%, respectively, to reach the first (2020) milestones of the End TB Strategy.

Funding for TB care and prevention reached US$ 6.9 billion in 2017 in 118 low and middle-income countries that reported data (and accounted for 97% of reported TB cases globally). This was an increase from US$ 6.3 billion in 2016 and more than double the US$ 3.3 billion that was available in 2006. Overall, most funding during the period 2006–2016 has been provided from domestic sources, and this remains the case in 2017 (84% of the global total

New Delhi : The war against dengue could soon get a new weapon. Scientists at the New Delhi-based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) are in the final stages of developing a new antiviral that promises to tackle all the four types of dengue virus.

Disclosing this, Naveen Khanna senior scientist at ICGEB, said the drug has been validated in animals and is ready to undergo all the mandated safety and toxicity tests as per existing regulations. “Human trials have to take place and we are confident that the new drug would be available in the market in a few years.” 

The new drug is derived from a plant called Cissampelos pareira Linn (Cipa).  It has been patented in 17 countries across the world. 

The drug is the result of an exhaustive search of ayurvedic texts, triggered by a talk delivered by former President of Indian National Science Academy, Prof. M.S.Valiathan at the institute.

“A chance talk by Prof. Valiathan on the theme of ‘Ayurveda and modern medicine’ set us thinking. We thought why not examine ancient texts to find if any of the herbs mentioned there could be a fit cure for dengue. We established collaboration with Ayurvedic practitioners and tested many of the herbs mentioned in texts.”

The task was, however, not simple. Ayurvedic and Sanskrit literature often describe herbs with therapeutic utility rather than botanical source. At times variation in the language causes confusion in the nomenclature of different plants having similar name. All these could lead to identifying a wrong plant as the one mentioned in the text. The researchers selected a set of nineteen plants including neem, aloe and basil, which were said to provide relief to symptoms similar to dengue. Their extracts were prepared and tested against dengue virus. 

After years of trial and error, researchers were able to identify Cissampelos pareira Linn as a potential candidate. “We have signed an agreement with Sun Pharma to produce world’s first botanical drug against dengue,” said Dr. Khanna. 

He noted that the drug could be of great help in terms of preventing development of drug resistance as botanical drugs are a mixture of molecules and it is harder for pathogens to develop resistance against all of them. 

The ICGEB, he said, has also developed a tetravalent vaccine that promises to act against dengue, with support from Wellcome Trust, Department of Biotechnology and the Indo-US Vaccine Programme. The vaccine has been patented internationally. Clinical trials are awaited. “It has a virus like immunogenetic material, which attacks business end of the virus that can give immunity.” 

Presently, just one vaccine is available in the market. But it can be used only in the age of group of 9-45 and has some side effects. The Word Health Organisation has called for development of a next generation vaccine. 

In addition, the lab has developed a diagnostic kit for the disease. Called ‘Dengue Day 1’, it can detect the infection right on day one. 

A major problem with dengue is that as it has four types — DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4 and it is quite possible that a person may get infected with one type first and later have a secondary infection with another type. Also, the first time infection might have been silent and the patient may not even know that he or she was affected. This creates an issue as the secondary virus infection is fraught with high risk. The patient could suffer hemorrhage, dengue shock syndrome, and trauma, leading to even death. That’s why it is important to not only know if the patient is afflicted with dengue or not, but also whether it was a primary or a secondary infection. The Dengue Day 1 kit helps in figuring this out. 

Blood serum of an infected person would have small pieces of the virus called NS1 from day one and immunity response of the body would release two types of antibodies IgM and IgG. While IgM remains in the blood for a month or so, IgG persists for life time. The kit can detect all of them – NS1, IgM and IgG. Consequently, it is able to not only diagnosis but also discriminate whether it is a primary or secondary infection. 

Recalling how the kit was developed, Dr. Khanna noted that it was an arduous task as there was no well characterised dengue affected and dengue free serum samples in the country. Sri Lanka had such an arrangement. But biomaterials like serum are not allowed to be taken from one country to another.  Fortunately, as ICGEB was an international organisation, it had some PhD and postdoctoral students. The students would develop a protein and take it to Sri Lanka and test it on the serum samples, come back with the result, improve and develop a new one. After several shuttle trips, they finally could develop the necessary recombinant protein detectors. 

Dr. Khanna recalled that ICGEB’s dengue saga began with a letter from former President of India, Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam. “Dr. Kalam wrote to our then Director that the soldiers of Indian army are severely affected by dengue and we should develop a kit at an affordable cost on priority basis.”

He emphasised the need to ensure that all measures are taken to prevent Dengue. “While the mosquito that spreads malaria prefers dirty water and can travel large distances, the Aedes, the primary vector of dengue is lazy. It lives in clean water and can fly only up to 100 or 150 meters. Therefore if someone is infected with dengue virus it is clear that mosquitoes were thriving in clean water inside their house or office space. Ensuing that no clean stagnant water near our environment is a must to prevent dengue” he added. (India Science Wire)

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off a run in New Delhi, called the ‘Run for Unity’, on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, in New Delhi today. The Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (I/C) and Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and other dignitaries are also seen. 

On the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We salute Sardar Patel on his Jayanti. His momentous service and monumental contribution to India can never be forgotten.” PM Modi is flagging of a marathon in New Delhi called the ‘Run for Unity’.

“The youth of India respects him (Sardar Patel) and his contribution toward the building of our nation,” PM Modi said. “Till the time we don’t respect that diversity (unity in diversity), diversity will only be a term and won’t be of use in nation-building,” the Prime Minister said.

“India is a country full of diversity. Unity in diversity is our speciality,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said before flagging of the Run for Unity in New Delhi on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary. 

“Sardar Patel not just saved India from the challenges we faced, but he united Indians also. But his name has been sidelined. Whether a government shows acceptance or not, this country will not forget him. We are happy that people are participating in the Run for Unity,” PM Modi said.

Mr Modi said India will be always proud of Sardar Patel’s contributions and it would also continue to inspire thousands of countrymen to serve the country.

The well-known Scottish historian and writer William Dalrymple says that ‘history can be changed and rewritten on the solid building blocks of facts’, but the attempt to rewrite the history according to a political party’s convenience can be dangerous for the generation to come. The controversy rose around one of the seven wonders in the world, the Taj Mahal, has been stirred by Sangeet Som, an MLA of the Bharatiya Janta Party from Uttar Pradesh, whose speech ignited the debate of whether the Taj is a ‘blot’ on Indian culture or a symbol of love. The debate on the Taj later changed from culture to religion as the right-wing pushed the theory of Taj-Tejo Mahalaya, a narrative constructed back in the year 1966 in the books, ‘Some Blunders of Indian Historical Research’ and ‘True Story of The Taj’ written by Purushottam Nagesh Oak. Today, after five decades, a parallel narrative on the Taj Mahal, which was built in the 17th century, has suddenly become an apple of discord. The right wing is escalating Oak’s theory in order to gain political mileage and attention in the next elections.
PN Oak’s Theory
PN Oak in his book wrote that the Taj Mahal is not the Mumtaz Mahal’s (wife of Mughal emperor Shahjahan) mausoleum but a Hindu temple of lord Shiva known as ‘Tejo Mahalaya’. In his research PN Oak discovered that the tomb of Taj was actually gifted by the Maharaja of Jaipur, Maharaja Jai Singh. He also claimed that no any historian of the Mughal era has confirmed the much-celebrated love story of the Mughal emperor Shahajahan and Mumtaz Mahal which marked the construction of one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing monuments in the world. PN oak also presented many other outrageous ideas through his books taking a jibe on some other historical monuments of India and the world as well, where he supported his ‘findings’ based on rhyming and rhetoric. He said that Jesus Christ formed Christianity after learning ‘Krishna-Neeti’, Argentina is named after the mighty Pandav archer, Arjun, as ‘ArjunTina’, a Shivalinga is situated inside Kabba, Islam is Ishalayam, the Westminster Abbey is a Hindu structure, Vatican City was a ‘Vaatika (the hermitage)’ and many other outrageous idea which he cited without any reference and evidences. It becomes very difficult to rely on the texts by the writer as he lacks lot of fundamental conviction to support his argument. The book embraces some more bizarre arguments like the basement of the Taj is filled with the Hindu temple structures as the monument is situated on the banks of the river Yamuna. Taking a cue from this notion, a petition was filed in the court to demolish the basement of the Taj Mahal and do a check, but the court declined it saying that the new theory lacks proper conviction and logic. 
Historians say that history is written on the basis of findings, logic and evidences but PN oak expressed his shallow theories driven by his Hindu sentiments in his book without citing any solid reference or blocks of facts.
What does the ASI say?
In a response to the petition filed by six Indian lawyers in April 2015, claiming that the iconic Taj Mahal was in reality a Hindu temple, the Archeological Survey of India refuted the contention that the UNESCO world heritage is a Hindu temple. At that time, the lawyers demanded that followers of Shiva should be allowed to perform puja or prayers inside the Taj Mahal. (The day before yesterday a group of Hindu Yuva Vahini entered the premises of the Taj and recited Shiva Chalisa. Later on, the CISF personnel moved them out.)  The ASI and the historians have time and again raised doubts over the PN Oak’s theories of Tejo Mahalaya.
Yogi Calls it ‘Gem of India’
Had it not been the speech made in a public gathering by Sangeet Som, the controversy on the Taj might not have stirred at this level. The MLA said that the Taj Mahal is a ‘blot on Indian culture’ and the ‘tyrants’ made this. The leader committed a historical blunder by saying that Shahjahan ‘captivated his father’, however the Mughal emperor was himself captured his son Aurangzeb. The controversial BJP leader’s statement encouraged many other right wingers to speak up against the Taj and support the theory of PN Oak’s Tejo Mahalaya. 
Ironically, the historical monument has been eliminated recently from the Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet and the reactions on this issue are mixed within the party. On the one side, some party leaders and spokespersons of the BJP say that it is a blot on Indian culture and must be treated as Hindu temple, the other top brass visits the Taj and tries to broom out the controversy after the damage is done. Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi visited the historical monument with his entourage and launched a cleanliness drive in its premises. He referred the Taj Mahal as the ‘Gem of India’ and also called it an integral part of Indian culture. But his colleagues in the government are leaving no stone unturned to malign the white marbles of the Taj and coating it saffron. There is a clear difference in the versions on the Taj issue by the lower and higher deck of the party.
Is Taj another Babri?
Since the formation of the BJP government in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the saffron brigade is gradually inching towards the establishment of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The well-known spiritual guru and the founder of The Art of Living Sri Sri Ravishankar met the imams of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), and the Hindu religious leaders of Nirmohi Akhara in order to reach on a consensus on the construction of the Ramlala temple on the disputed lands of Ayodhya, taking a cue from the Allahabad High court for out of court settlement on the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir issue. He is trying to find an amicable solution as a mediator. He has also praised the UP CM Yogi that the former Mahant of the Gorakhnath temple is putting diligent efforts towards the establishment of the mandir at the disputed land. Now the fresh controversy on the Taj by the Lotus party seems to be another agenda in the similar lines of Ayodhya dispute. Does the saffron brigade attempt to drive the Hindu sentiments for the next Loksabha elections in 2019 by hitting one more Mandir-Masjid issue in the form of Taj-Tejo Mahalaya? This is a matter of debate which cannot be rejected sooner or later. There is an attempt to re’right’ the Indian history for some political benefits. 
William Delrymple believes that neither of the political parties, BJP and Congress, has put efforts to preserve the pride of Indian historical monuments. In a talk show he said that Agra was so clean and beautiful that the travelers used to travel by boats from one place to another, enjoying the scenic beauty of the Mughal era, but due to lack of will and money, we are losing on the charm and pride of Indian historical heritage. Our grandchildren will be deprived as they will encounter complete different history in their textbooks.   
(Views are personal.)